NVIDIA Launch New RTX Hardware at CES 2019

NVIDIA kicked off CES 2019 with expansive plans to bring its new Turing architecture to more users in 2019.

Speaking to nearly a thousand people in attendance at CES 2019, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang announced the new NVIDIA RTX 2060 graphics card, set to retail for $349, offering a more middle of the road option for users wanting to get a taste of the new Turing architecture at a lower price point.

“RTX is here, next gen is on,” Huang exclaimed to a packed house of press, partners, and professionals from around the globe at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “For $349 you can enjoy next-generation gaming,” Huang announced to widespread applause. “The long-awaited RTX 2060 is here.”

During the 90 minute talk, Huang explained how NVIDIA’s Turing architecture represents the biggest shift in real-time graphics rendering since NVIDIA invented the programmable shader. Over 15 years ago.

Turing combines support for real-time ray tracing and deep learning thanks to its RT and Tensor Cores, with a new generation of programmable shaders that sets a new benchmark for graphics rendering.

Explaining the new phenomenon, Huang stated that “we give it an image and it goes through a network called DLSS and what comes out of it is a beautiful image. This is the neural network we created to improve an image.”

The new technology allows developers to create photo-realistic experiences that were only possible in scenes painstakingly generated over countless hours on render farms. The technology is also designed to help artists and designers, bringing digital imaging as a whole to a new standard.

RTX for Laptops

Expanding the line up of RTX powered machines are more than 40 new laptop models from the world’s top manufacturers, which will be available later this month in over 100 different configurations.

“Laptops are the fastest growing gaming platform — and just getting started,” explained Jensen Huang at CES 2019. “The world’s top OEMs are using Turing to bring next-generation console performance to thin, sleek laptops that gamers can take anywhere. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide — an entire generation — are growing up gaming. I can’t wait for them to experience this new wave of laptops.”

17 of these new laptops feature Max-Q design, a new approach to crafting gaming laptops to be the thinnest, fastest, and quietest machines around. Max-Q aims to offer players the best in gaming performance within an impossibly sleek design, offering laptops thinner than 20 mm fitted with 144 Hz displays, and extraordinary battery life.

These Turing-based laptops will be available with GPU’s from across the NVIDIA GeForce RTX family, from RTX 2080 through RTX 2060.

G-SYNC Compatible Monitors

NVIDIA is also working on an expansion of the G-SYNC ecosystem, with the opening of pre-orders for the new BFGD monitors and the announcement of new G-SYNC displays.

G-SYNC monitor technology introduced smooth variable refresh rate gameplay, with no screen tearing and no V-Sync input lag. Since the launch of G-SYNC, gaming monitors have rapidly evolved to perform at higher refresh rates, offer higher and higher Dynamic ranges and fit into new form factors.

Not one to slow down, NIVIDA are now offering support for G-SYNC Compatible monitors. These will be determined by tests carried out by NVIDIA themselves, and screens that pass validation tests will be marked as G-SYNC Compatible and enabled by default in the GeForce driver.

Support for G-SYNC Compatible monitors will begin on January 15 with the launch of the first 2019 Game Ready driver. 12 monitors out of 400 tested have been marked as G-SYNC Compatible with more set to be added as more testing is carried out. Users who have monitors that have not yet been tested, or that have failed validation, will have the option to manually enable VRR, should they wish.

NIVIDA have certainly started the year strong with their announcements from CES 2019. With a mid-priced option for those looking to get into the Turing architecture in the form of the RTX 2060 and countless options for RTX equipped laptops making ray-tracing ever more accessible, it would certainly seem that we can look forward to a year of gorgeous graphics with NVIDIA’s Turing architecture.